Building The Pack: Inside Coach Wells' Culture-First Transformation

In football, people often assume the scoreboard tells the whole story. However, it rarely does. Scores flash, graphics roll, and records update. By the time fans are heading to their cars, all anyone sees is the final score. A win, or a loss. However, in Washington, there’s more going on than the record showed last year.

You hear the work. The rebuilding. The revamping of the organization.

For the Washington Wolfpack, the 2025 season was not the story anyone would have scripted on paper. However, if you think that’s where the story ends, you don’t understand what is happening inside this organization. For head coach JR Wells, 2025 wasn’t a failure, it was the start of something bigger.

In a growing league where franchises can appear and disappear in the space of a few seasons, simply surviving is not enough. Someone has to decide what the team stands for. Someone has to say, “This is who we are, this is how we work, and this is the standard we will never walk away from.”

That someone in Washington is Coach Wells. Make no mistake, the Wolfpack are no longer just trying to find their place in the league. They are trying to define it.

I sat down with Coach Wells to talk about the season that was, the future that’s coming, and the vision that is quietly transforming the Washington Wolfpack from a team setting the foundation to build a program that will thrive. 

2025: LESSONS IN THE FIRE

When I asked Coach Wells what his favorite moment from 2025 was, he didn’t mention a touchdown, a big play, or a final score. 

“One of my favorite moments,” he said, “is us getting through 2025.” There was a weight to that. Not the weight of a disappointment, but the hard-earned gravity of survival in a league where other teams didn’t. 

“You see some programs that have been around that are no longer here,” he continued. “We’re still here. We started to build a foundation, and we’re locked in with what our foundation looks like, what our culture looks like, and most importantly, what our standard is here.”

Most coaches, when pressed on a hard season, retreat to cliches. They hide behind phrases like “it is what it is” and “we’ll watch the film.” Coach Wells does none of that. For him, the behind-the-scenes growth means more than anything printed in the box score last year. 

The standard he is setting is not about being the flashiest player on the field, not about showboating or stat-chasing in a highlight-obsessed era. His standard is about something older and tougher. It’s about teamwork and accountability. It’s about growing, learning, and becoming a better man. 

“When you leave here,” Coach Wells said, “you’re going to be a better man, a better father, a better husband, a better uncle. You’ll be a greater version of who you are. You’re going to leave this program so that you can empower and impact your community.” 

It doesn’t come across as a spin. It comes across as a clear philosophy.

Coach Wells sees football the way the great builders of programs have always seen it. A place where character is tested, refined, and revealed. He talks about taking a skill, an athletic gift, a talent that might have started as an escape or a dream, and turning it into something that reaches far beyond the walls. 

That kind of culture often keeps players around. It gives their work meaning and roots them inside something larger than themselves. It’s the kind of environment players gravitate toward and, more importantly, one they don’t want to leave. 

CULTURE OVER CLOUT

Of course, culture is easy to talk about and much harder to live. However, in Washington, the proof is not in a slogan on the wall. Some of it is in the lives being touched outside of the stadium. 

The Wolfpack run a program that allows players to give back in real, sustained ways. The most powerful is a buddy program with local low-income schools. No camera crews, no hype videos or choreographed entrances. These are just players and kids, sitting at tables, reading books, eating lunch, or playing at recess. Real human beings, real time, and real bonds. 

“These kids were in tears when the players had to go home because the season was over,” Wells said. “It just showed the impact they had on them.”

No scoreboards or trophies, but moments. A room full of happy children because grown men in shoulder pads and helmets took the time to know their names, listen to their stories, and be there consistently. In a sports world obsessed with followers and camera angles, the Wolfpack are choosing a different path. They are building a legacy where it counts most. Off the field, deep in the heart of their community. 

“We’re not looking for clout or likes,” Wells said. “We’re looking for legacy.” That single line can become an anthem for the Washington Wolfpack. 

Change Is Coming

Legacy, though, requires something harder than slogans and school visits. It requires honesty and change. After the 2025 season, Wells didn’t just tweak the roster. He reshaped it. 

“There aren’t a lot of the same players returning,” he admitted. Not out of spite. Not out of panic. Out of conviction. “You know, one thing I’ve learned through my coaching career is that you have to get the wrong guys off the bus and the right guys on. It goes back to the foundation, the standard, the culture. You have to go through the foundation and see who fits the culture.”

One of the players who absolutely fits is wide receiver Aakiel Greer. On paper, Greer’s 2025 numbers are modest. 24 catches, 247 yards, and three touchdowns. Those stats don’t jump off the page. Though part of that could be an offense that cycled through seven different quarterbacks. Building timing and chemistry under those circumstances is a difficult thing for any player. 

Yet, in the middle of that continued change, Greer showed Wells everything he needed to see.

“He’s an absolute beast when it comes to what the standard is here with the Washington Wolfpack,” Wells said. “I’m beyond blessed to have him back. It’s another testament to what we’re building here. He stands true to what is being built with the standard and the culture.”

To Wells, Greer embodies the values he wants the team to be built around. 

“He’s currently coaching back at his old high school,” Wells added proudly, “And they’re in the playoffs, only a couple of games from winning a state title. All the things that are required of being a coach are things that can help him. As a coach, you know what accountability looks like and what it calls for from a prolific player like himself.”

That is the kind of detail that tells you everything. Greer being back on a high school sideline, coaching teenagers and teaching the game, is exactly the type of Woflpack standard that lasts beyond the Wolfpack facilities. 

The Coach’s Fire

When you start to preview the 2026 Wolfpack with Wells, one thing becomes immediately clear. Change isn’t coming. It’s already here. He talks about the upcoming season with intensity. He’s determined to help this team succeed and reach their full potential. The foundation has been laid out, and now he’s framing the future of the team.

“What we stand for from the very beginning,” he said, “is four words. Humbled, hungry, intense, and disciplined. Those are the four elements to building a structured, culture-based program. You have to stay humble, and we’ve been humbled for sure. We’ve taken losses, which we don’t call losses. They’re more of lessons. Don’t worry, though. We’re going to come back, and we’re going to come back stronger.”

Listening to him on the other side of our virtual meeting, you believe it. Not because it sounds good, but because he does.

Some coaches focus on X’s and O’s. Others are motivators. Wells is the kind who changes the energy in a room. His high energy and enthusiasm don’t feel theatrical. It’s constant and feels like the words of someone who genuinely loves what he does.

In just twenty minutes of conversation, he had me wanting to be in the stands for their first home game, face painted and lungs ready to howl for the Pack along with everyone else. 

“I know that we can score a lot of points and score really fast,” Wells said with a smile. “We’re going to see that a lot moving forward. With Greer and the athletes around him, we’re going to be really tough to cover.”

New Pieces To The Puzzle

We all know culture alone doesn’t win games. Players who fit and amplify it are needed. Coach Wells has been relentless in finding them. 

He began by adding to his staff, bringing in coach Delvin Myles as defensive coordinator. Myles is a former Winnipeg Blue Bomber in the CFL and a veteran of multiple arena teams from 1999 to 2003. He’s played both receiver and defensive back and knows what this game looks like from every angle. 

“You’re going to see us flying around,” Wells said. “We’re going to have a lot of swagger to us. I brought in Coach Myles, and I’m excited to work with him. We both played ball together in the arena game, which is really exciting to have him a part of this team.”

Then there are the players Coach Wells brought in. New blood that will define the 2026 identity on and off the field.

“I was able to bring in Donte Reed,” Coach Wells said. “This kid is definitely a great fit culturally within our program. He’s a maniac in the gym and works extremely hard. He’s definitely one of those guys who will play outdoors.” 

“We got Moe Strong, who is a dynamic beast,” Wells continued. “He’s a 6-4 high flyer who can stretch the field. He can high-top people easily.” You could see the excitement in the coach’s eyes, talking about the pieces he’s added. As if he could already see guys like Strong rising above a defender, snatching the ball away. You can’t scheme height and explosion like that. You can only unleash it. 

“We have a hidden gem in Justin Olibrice. He’s a Deebo Samuel-type player and a burner at 5-11. He’s strong, powerful, and shifty. He has great hands and gets in and out of his breaks.” Defensive coordinators may struggle with this team, trying to figure out how to match up with that kind of versatility in space. The list didn’t stop there, however.

“I’m really excited about Bernard McCall,” Wells said. “I’ve got him listed as a fullback, but this guy is a big guy and can run routes.” In an arena game built on mismatches, a fullback who moves like a tight end is a cheat code waiting to happen. It’s not just the playmakers he mentioned. The trenches are just as important. 

“We have Tairiq Stewart on the offensive line, who was with the New England Patriots and also went to the CFL. This is probably the best offensive lineman in arena football.” It’s hard to say just how important that is in this league. In arena ball, where the game is faster and the space is tighter, having a dominant offensive lineman is like having a force field around your quarterback. 

Speaking of violence in the trenches, Wells lit up when he mentioned linebacker Justice Wallin. 

“We got Justice Wallin. I’ll just say this - he’s squatting 705 pounds. He’s a linebacker that is downhill, hard-nosed, knock your head off of your shoulders type of guy.” He’s dynamite. 

“Then quarterback-wise,” Wells said, “we’ve got Vincent Espinoza and Giovanni Sanders. When the lights come on. The fans hear that howl, and the players all come together, it’s going to come down to all of us together.” 

Nearly every part of the roster has been touched. This isn’t just tinkering, it’s transforming. 

Building Like A Farmer, Stacking Like Legos

“Just like Legos, we’re stacking up,” Wells said. His tone shifted, “We have to, though, right? This is a very competitive league. This isn’t just fly-by-night.” Then came his powerful analogy. 

“I look at it more like the analogy of a farmer,” he said. “Most people want instant gratification. They want to win now, which is great. We all do. People want to hit the lotto. I feel like we have hit the lotto when it comes to our program. However, when you’re in the building, it’s the ‘fruits of your labor’, kind of deal. You have to have rich soil and fertilize it. You have to drop some good seeds in there. You have to water it and put some sunlight on it. Then the next level is praising it, motivating it, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

As he explained the analogy, it became clear how he sees the team development. The soil is the culture, the seeds are the players, the water is the daily work, and the sunlight is belief. The harvest will come later when it all unfolds on the field. 

The changes are evident. The roster is completely different. However, the aim is not change for its own sake, it’s change with purpose. Change that aligns with the foundation already laid by Coach Wells. Change that takes the lessons of 2025 and turns them into fuel. Wells’ continued enthusiasm for the team and what they are building is not a performance. It’s who he is. 

Defining Success

With success being defined in so many different ways in today’s game, I asked Coach Wells a simple question.

“How do you define success for the 2026 Washington Wolfpack?” He didn’t hesitate. 

“Obviously, number one is to win our first home game,” he said. “That will show that things are moving in a different and positive direction. We’re going to put more points on the board. And of course, playoffs. Everybody wants to win a championship.” Then he drilled down to the core of success for the Wolfpack. 

“However, our motto here is we just want to go 1-0 every week. Do the right fundamentals and execute, and that’s something we can pride ourselves on. Especially myself as the head coach. We’ve taken these lessons. Now let’s run smoothly with them.” 

Several times throughout our conversation, I circled back to the same thing. Coach Wells’ energy. I’ve talked with a lot of coaches in football, and energy is something players recognize immediately. They know when it’s real and when it’s staged. With Wells, it’s as real as it gets. He believes in this team and in these players. He believes in the foundation that has been set and believes that what they’re building is something special. 

After twenty to thirty minutes talking with him, I believed it too. As the interview came to a close, Wells didn’t end with a slogan. He ended with a Wolf Howl. A long, rising howl that felt less like a sound and more like a notice. A notice to the league. A message to anyone still doubting what is happening in Washington.

This year is different for the Pack. If you don’t believe in this team yet, that’s fine. 

Just keep watching. You will.